Society & PopulationCanada edition
Canada's population growth, 2018 to 2025: a sharp slowdown after a record pace
Canada's population grew by 0.94% in 2025, down from 2.98% in 2024, which was the fastest pace in the eight years shown.
- 20181.43%
- 20191.46%
- 20201.08%
- 20210.55%
- 20221.84%
- 20232.78%
- 20242.98%
- 20250.94%
The headline figure
Canada's population is still growing, but much more slowly than it was a year earlier. Annual population growth was 0.94% in 2025. In 2024 the same measure was 2.98%, the highest annual rate from 2018 to 2025.
Sources for this paragraph (2)
- F7 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 2.98% · 2024 · World Bank
- F8 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.94% · 2025 · World Bank
Year by year: what the official figures show
The measure is the annual percentage change in Canada's population. Each figure covers one calendar year.
Sources for this paragraph (2)
- F1 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 1.43% · 2018 · World Bank
- F8 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.94% · 2025 · World Bank
Growth was 1.43% in 2018 and edged up to 1.46% in 2019. It then fell to 1.08% in 2020 and to 0.55% in 2021, the lowest rate in the series.
Sources for this paragraph (4)
- F1 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 1.43% · 2018 · World Bank
- F2 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 1.46% · 2019 · World Bank
- F3 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 1.08% · 2020 · World Bank
- F4 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.55% · 2021 · World Bank
The pace then picked up quickly. Growth was 1.84% in 2022, 2.78% in 2023 and 2.98% in 2024.
Sources for this paragraph (3)
- F5 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 1.84% · 2022 · World Bank
- F6 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 2.78% · 2023 · World Bank
- F7 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 2.98% · 2024 · World Bank
In 2025 the rate dropped to 0.94%.
Sources for this paragraph (1)
- F8 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.94% · 2025 · World Bank
How 2025 compares with earlier years
The 2025 rate of 0.94% is below every other year in the series except 2021, when growth was 0.55%.
Sources for this paragraph (2)
- F4 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.55% · 2021 · World Bank
- F8 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.94% · 2025 · World Bank
It is also below the rates seen before 2020. Growth was 1.43% in 2018 and 1.46% in 2019.
Sources for this paragraph (3)
- F1 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 1.43% · 2018 · World Bank
- F2 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 1.46% · 2019 · World Bank
- F8 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.94% · 2025 · World Bank
What this means for people in Canada
The country added people in 2025, but at a much slower rate than in 2023 or 2024. Growth was 0.94% in 2025, compared with 2.78% in 2023 and 2.98% in 2024.
Sources for this paragraph (3)
- F6 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 2.78% · 2023 · World Bank
- F7 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 2.98% · 2024 · World Bank
- F8 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.94% · 2025 · World Bank
Two other official figures describe the population itself. People aged 65 and above made up 20.26% of the total population in 2025. The fertility rate was 1.25 births per woman in 2024.
Sources for this paragraph (2)
- C20 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
- C21 Canada Population aged 65 and above (% of total population) · 20.26% · 2025 · World Bank
These are separate measures from population growth, and they cover different years. The figures here do not show how they relate to the slowdown in 2025.
Sources for this paragraph (3)
- C20 Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) · 1.25 · 2024 · World Bank
- C21 Canada Population aged 65 and above (% of total population) · 20.26% · 2025 · World Bank
- F8 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.94% · 2025 · World Bank
What the data does and does not show
The figures show how fast the population changed each year. They do not say why growth rose so quickly from 2022 to 2024 or why it fell in 2025.
Sources for this paragraph (4)
- F5 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 1.84% · 2022 · World Bank
- F6 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 2.78% · 2023 · World Bank
- F7 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 2.98% · 2024 · World Bank
- F8 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.94% · 2025 · World Bank
The series gives national totals only. It does not break growth down by province, city or age group.
Sources for this paragraph (1)
- F8 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.94% · 2025 · World Bank
The latest annual figure is for 2025. The data does not yet show whether the slower pace continued into 2026.
Sources for this paragraph (1)
- F8 Canada Population growth (annual %) · 0.94% · 2025 · World Bank
Scenarios to watch
- Scenario, not a forecast If the factors behind the 2025 slowdown persist, the next annual figure could stay close to the low rates seen in 2021 and 2025.
- Scenario, not a forecast If those factors ease, growth could move back toward the range recorded before 2020.
- Scenario, not a forecast If the factors behind the fast growth of 2022 to 2024 return, the annual rate could rise again, though the current data gives no sign either way.
What to check next
- The annual population growth figure for 2026, to see whether the slower pace held
- Updates to the share of people aged 65 and above
- The next release of the fertility rate after 2024
- Any revisions to the figures for 2024 and 2025
Verified data used in this report
| Indicator | Value | Period | Sources | Accessed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Canada Population growth (annual %) | 1.43% | 2018 | World Bank | |
| F2 | Canada Population growth (annual %) | 1.46% | 2019 | World Bank | |
| F3 | Canada Population growth (annual %) | 1.08% | 2020 | World Bank | |
| F4 | Canada Population growth (annual %) | 0.55% | 2021 | World Bank | |
| F5 | Canada Population growth (annual %) | 1.84% | 2022 | World Bank | |
| F6 | Canada Population growth (annual %) | 2.78% | 2023 | World Bank | |
| F7 | Canada Population growth (annual %) | 2.98% | 2024 | World Bank | |
| F8 | Canada Population growth (annual %) | 0.94% | 2025 | World Bank | |
| C11 | Canada consumer price inflation (12-month change) | 3.09% | 2026-09 | Statistics Canada | |
| C12 | Canada food price inflation (12-month change) | 2.18% | 2026-09 | Statistics Canada | |
| C13 | Canada new housing price index (12-month change) | -2.04% | 2026-09 | Statistics Canada | |
| C14 | Canada central bank policy rate (month-end) | 2.25% | 2026-09 | Bank of Canada | |
| C15 | Canada shelter prices (CPI, 12-month change) | 1.75% | 2026-09 | Statistics Canada | |
| C16 | Canada unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) | 6.5% | 2026-09 | Statistics Canada | |
| C17 | Canada average weekly earnings (12-month change) | 3.68% | 2026-08 | Statistics Canada | |
| C18 | Canada GDP growth (annual %) | 1.74% | 2025 | World Bank | |
| C19 | Canada Unemployment, total (% of labour force, ILO modelled estimate) | 6.91% | 2025 | World Bank | |
| C20 | Canada Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.25 | 2024 | World Bank | |
| C21 | Canada Population aged 65 and above (% of total population) | 20.26% | 2025 | World Bank |
Sources
How this report was checked
- Data: the newest reference period cited is 2026-09.
- Figures were collected from the source on
- Written by an AI model (claude-opus-5-5) using only the official figures listed in this report.
- Automatic checks passed: every number matches a cited figure, every paragraph names its evidence, and there is no investment advice or copied source text.
- A separate quality-check model raised concerns, and the report was rewritten once to address them.
- No person reviewed this report before publication. Automatic checks confirm the numbers, not every interpretation.
Update history
- 2026-10-31 12:01 UTC — created
- 2026-10-31 12:01 UTC — approved+published